Voter ID bill a shopworn GOP idea

What happens when you fix something that ain’t broke? You’re sure to break something else. But the Republicans in Raleigh apparently don’t care about that fundamental truth, or anything else that stands athwart their path to perpetual power.

Today’s example is their steamroller bill to require photo IDs from voters at the polls. The only supporting evidence is not only anecdotal but it concerns absentee ballots, which are beyond the reach of any such legislation. Moreover, not even photo IDs are foolproof. Ask any bartender or employer who has been duped.

The better deterrent to voter fraud is swift and rigorous prosecution whenever it’s detected. The Republican bill, however, would disenfranchise primarily honest people, especially older voters, who for one reason or another don’t have photo IDs.

Why do this? Why throw $1 million into a new program when money is so short as to threaten massive teacher layoffs? It’s no coincidence that Republicans propose this wherever they take power. They figure that it will depress votes for Democrats.

It’s cut from the same pernicious pattern as their campaign to destroy the unions, thereby eliminating any counterweight to the GOP’s corrupt glut of corporate cash. The goal is not merely to defeat the opposition, but to destroy it forever.